The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy and political history and strives to apply the lessons of history to the nation’s most pressing contemporary governance challenges. more →

Welcome to the Miller Center

From presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Located on the 6th floor of Syracuse University's Bird Library, the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) advances scholarship and learning by collecting and preserving rare books, manuscripts, and other primary source materials. SCRC's collections span time and format, from cuneiform tables to born digital electronic files. Collecting areas include activism and social reform, architecture and design, popular culture (cartoons, science fiction, and pulp literature), photography, and the history of recorded sound. SCRC is dedicated to connecting students, scholars, and the general public to its collections through exhibitions, lectures, and mini-seminars.

Note that this is an incomplete collections list. Please contact the organization directly for the most current information about their holdings.

Created by: Sue Perdue

James A. Garfield Letters, 1880

The James A. Garfield Letters are a set of two handwritten letters sent by Garfield to Albert Hinsdale of Wadsworth, Ohio. The first letter is dated 22 Nov 1880 and thanks Hinsdale for a message he sent Garfield. The second letter is dated 18 Dec 1880 and again thanks Hinsdale for his correspondence and his advice. Two letters written by the American President, Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.

George F. Johnson Papers, 1882-1956

Papers of the American industrialist, business executive. President of Endicott-Johnson Corporation. Finding aid includes a personal recollection from his daughter, Lillian Johnson Sweet. Correspondence, incoming and outgoing (1900-1945); financial records (1892-1938); articles and speeches (1920-1967); pamphlets, broadsides and posters (1910-1953); blueprints, scrapbooks, photographs, and other material relating to Endicott-Johnson Corporation and Johnson's philosophy of industrial democracy and labor-management relations.

Martin Van Buren Collection

The Martin Van Buren Collection consists of three items in his hand and/or bearing his signature. The two land grants award a total of 264.32 acres to Rittenhouse Nutt of Jefferson County, Mississippi. The letter, written from Owasco, New York on 26 Sep 1832, is to T. W. Olcott of Albany, New York.

Horace White Papers, 1903-1914

Horace White (1865-1943) was an American lawyer, state legislator, and Republican governor of New York. He lived and practiced law in the city of Syracuse for more than thirty years. Papers of the American lawyer, legislator, politician. New York State Senator representing Onondaga County, and Lieutenant Governor, later Governor, upon the resignation of Charles Evans Hughes. Correspondence (1900-1912), includes 4400 incoming letters and 4000 outgoing carbons; personal financial records (1903-1914); speeches; and photographs. Correspondents include Nicholas Murray Butler, George Fisk Comfort, Chauncey M. Depew, Alan C. Fobes, Frank W. Higgins, Charles Evans Hughes, Seth Low, Frank A. Munsey, Benjamin B. Odell, Thomas C. Platt, Elihu Root, Jacob G. Schurman, William H. Taft, James W. Wadsworth, Andrew Dickson White, and other White family members, and Timothy L. Woodruff.

James Monroe Correspondence

The James Monroe Correspondence consists of two letters written by Monroe. The first letter was sent by Monroe on 14 February 1814 while he was Secretary of State. It is addressed to the Governor of the Mississippi Territory (David Holmes) and warns him about the activities of Dr. John Hamilton Robinson. A few years earlier, Robinson had been an official American envoy in Mexico, and he had developed sympathies for the revolutionaries fighting the Spanish colonial government there. Monroe's letter alludes to Robinson's illegal attempts to recruit American volunteers for the Mexican War of Independence, and he asks the governor to take the "necessary and proper steps" to stop him.

The second letter was written by Monroe on 1 July 1820 to William Wilkins, possibly the Pennsylvania politician who was then a member of the state house of representatives. In this letter of recommendation, Monroe asks Wilkins to give his nephew Charles W. Ernest a commission of second lieutenant in the army.

William Brown McKinley Papers, 1906-1920

McKinley, William Brown, 1856-1926. Papers of the American legislator. McKinley was the Republican U.S. Representative(1905-1913; 1915-1920) and Senator (1920-1926) from Illinois. Collection includes correspondence, financial records, pamphlets, petitions, photographs, press releases, scrapbooks, and speeches, mostly relating to McKinley's roll as director of William H. Taft's renomination campaign prior to the Presidential election of 1912.

Ulysses S. Grant Collection 1869-1892

1 folder (SC)
There are no access restrictions on this material.
Correspondence and memorabilia related to the Civil War General and President.
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was an American Civil War General and the 18th President of the United States.
English.
Finding aid available.http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/902866364

William Howard Taft Letters, 1891-1929

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930. Papers of the U. S. President. Outgoing correspondence concerning recommendations for appointments; the raising of a native militia and the use of American engineers in the Philippines; and devising a plan for a government in Manila. The William Howard Taft Letters consist of six outgoing items of Correspondence written between 1891 and 1929. The three items to John Proctor Clarke concern recommendations for appointments. There are also two letters to Lyman Kennon relating to issues concerning the Philippines, including the raising of a native militia and the use of American engineers for construction purposes. In addition is a letter to Henry MacFarland discussing a plan for the government of Manila.